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Three African-American Female DC High School Science Students Confronted with Racism in NASA Science Contest

November 25, 2018

Three African-American DC high school girls (Mikayla Sharrieff, India Skinner, and Bria Snell) entered a NASA-sponsored science contest. The girls’ submission for the contest was a method they developed to purify lead-contaminated water in school drinking fountains. They took clean water and disseminated it in Flint, Michigan. They became finalists — the only all-black female team to make it that far in the competition. Part of the competition involved online voting that was hacked and accompanied by racist comments. The girls came in second in the contest. They met with government authorities and advocated for more resources to be made available to encourage minorities and women to be involved in science fields.